Exploring Invasive Plant Species: A Case Study Using Japanese Barberry and Garlic Mustard. Melanie Goral, BSc MSc (PhD Candidate) April 2013

Transcription

1 Exploring Invasive Plant Species: A Case Study Using Japanese Barberry and Garlic Mustard Melanie Goral, BSc MSc (PhD Candidate) April 2013

2 Overview 1. PhD Project & Objectives 2. Invasive Plant Species in General 3. Review of Japanese Barberry 4. Review of Garlic Mustard 5. Management/Control of Invasions & Future Direction of Project

3 Wordle of Common Terms in Project

4 Overview of PhD Project: GOAL: Examine Forest Dynamics PRESENT PAST FUTURE BIGGER PICTURE OF FOREST DYNAMICS

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6 Overview of PhD Project: Step 1 of 3 PAST Data Data Data Gather existing data (meta-data analysis) Build a long-term dataset E.g., Rondeau PP as a model site Asking new questions of old data Larger dataset = bigger picture DATA SYNTHESIS! Long-term Dataset

7 Major Areas of Interest 1. Spatial Patterns Plant composition, abundance and deer presence/absence 3. Relationships Native and invasive plant species and their interaction 2. Temporal Patterns Plant and deer abundance over time with a changing climate e.g., warming temperatures n 4. Predictive Models Joining aspects of: Ecology, plant life, herbivory, environmental stressors, government policy, future dynamics, conservation & management

8 E.g. Rondeau Provincial Park Southern Ontario Northern shore of Lake Erie 100s of permanent plots for woody & herbaceous spp cover + abiotic data (Tanentzap 2011)

9 1981 Haggith study, map of 78 sites (dry, mesic, wet) Geo-referencing needed Re-sampled in 1996, 2001, 2009 in 19 permanent plots Link plots to other plots (spatial analysis)

10 Invasive Plants Japanese barberry Native Plants agrimony chickweed (mouseeared) jack-in-thepulpit List of Native and Invasive Species in Rondeau Dataset cinquefoil (rough friuted) anemone, wood angelica hoary mint nettle (false) garlic dandelion mustard helleborine mallow mullein baneberr y colicroot Dogbane hog-peanut ginseng butterfly pea dentaria trefoil hickory beech woody geranium maculatum nettle (stinging) periwinkle poison ivy Buckthorn maidenhair fern maple woody pussytoes wild leek ginger (wild) purple cress Aster arisaema spikenard spring cress milkweed spring beauty mayflower Toothwort blue cohosh sedge Geranium robertiniu m fleabane strawberry hepatica gentian trout lilies dutchman's breeches dogwood (cornus) wild sarsasparilla bittercress (Cardamine spp) horsetail plantain (robins) aven ash woody cow parsley nettle (wood) clubmoss maianthe mum virginia waterleaf spicebush partridge berry honey suckle woody jewelweed peeywort (water) virginia wood creeper phlox (downy) lopseed ironwood betony clearweed phlox (blue) wood sorrel sweet cicely cinquefoil (dwarf) black currant gooseberr y Solomon seal white raspberry lettuce/bind (purple weed flowering) oak woody lily of the valley tulip tree woody false dragonhead betony climbing buckwheat may-apple raspberry cherry woody fern (sensi) pine black-eyed susan carrion flower skunk cabbage meadowrue sassafras (woody) green briar virginia knot weed solidago (id) solomon seal (false) bloodroot basswood (tilia) night shade starflower

11 Sample of the Data DATE location site aven freq baneberry freq beech barberry woody woody freq freq bellwort freq bloodroot freq rond d1.0n rond d1.0s rond d1.1n rond m1.1s rond m1.2n rond m1.2s rond w1.1n rond w1.1s rond w1.2n rond w1.2s

12 Overview of PhD Project: Step 2 of 3 PRESENT Seedbank composition study Examine the presence of invasive and native plant species Snapshot of current forest plant community structure Various Southern Ontario sites EXPLORING!

13 Overview of PhD Project: Step 3 of 3 FUTURE Build predictive models with multiple drivers E.g., Invasive plants, climate variables, landscape cover, disturbance levels Explore questions, such as: Q1 - Will a warming climate affect the abundance of deer? Q2 - Is there resource competition between invasive and native plant species? FUTURE SCENARIOS!

14 Building Predictive Relationships Conservation & Management Herbivory Environmental Stressors Ecology Government Policy Plant life Future Dynamics

15 Building Future Scenarios (Moore 2011, Planning for Climate Change, Bay Area Open Space Council)

16 A New Ecological Question for Old Data How are invasive plant species affecting native plant species in Southern Ontario parks, while being subject to climate change and deer disturbance? Lets discuss the importance of invasive plant species

17 Why Study Invasive Plant Species? 1. To learn more about the interaction between native and invasive plants and how the presence of invasive species affects the plant composition in a forest 2. To understand the impacts of the species 3. To manage biodiversity (Vila and Weiner 2004, Cheng-Yuan et al. 2007, van Kleunen et al. 2010)

18 Common Traits of Invasive Species 1. Ability to restrict growth and reproduction of native plant species 2. Attracts diverse pollinators 3. Prolific breeders 4. Germinate under wide range of conditions (Berger 1993, Morris et al. 2012)

19 Factors that make an Environment More Susceptible to Invasion High degree of disturbance (e.g., deer) Changes in soil chemistry and nutrient cycling Global transportation of invasive plants Human-mediated introduction is caused by recreational or commercial usage (Cheng-Yuan et al. 2007, Lubell et al. 2008, Coats et al. 2011)

20 Invasive Plant Ecology The study of invasive plant species versus native species has some biases e.g 1. Focus on non-random relationships between invasive and native species 2. Selection of simple traits to compare rather than more complex 3. Lack of research for comparisons between noninvasive plants and native plants (Vila and Weiner 2004, van Kleunen et al. 2010)

21 Examples of Invasive Plant Species in North America Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii) Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata)

22 More Examples Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) Periwinkle (Vinca herbacea)

23 Japanese Barberry: Habitat and Spread Japanese Barberry is native to Japan There is widespread invasion throughout Canada & U.S. Its presence is accidental & intentional Human-mediated introduction through planting & has capacity to spread (Cote and Leduc 2007, Lubell et al. 2008, Coats et al. 2011)

24 Japanese Barberry: Pros/Cons of Barberry PROs Ornamental plant Horticultural Industry Maine ($44M/annually) Favoured for its deer resistence CONs Out-competes native plants Changes soil structure and function Linked to the spread of Lyme disease (Elias et al. 2006, Cote and Leduc 2007, Lubell et al. 2008, Coats et al. 2011, Brand et al. 2012)

25 Japanese Barberry: Fun Facts Increasingly Popular Landscape Plant Research has increased over the last 3 decades, with the majority of papers published in the last decade

26 Japanese Barberry: Fun Facts A Refuge for Ticks A favorable habitat to reduce desiccation (Elias et al. 2006, Williams et al. 2009, Williams and Ward 2010)

27 Garlic Mustard: Habitat and Spread Garlic Mustard is native to Europe Common in many understory forests Invades both disturbed and undisturbed forests when introduced (Rodgers et al. 2008, Morris et al. 2012, Quackenbush et al. 2012)

28 Garlic Mustard: Pros/Cons PROs Attractive appearance Edible CONs Out-compete native plants Changes soil structure and function Causes a ripple effect through higher trophic levels (McCarthy 1997, Rodgers et al. 2008, Morris et al. 2012)

29 (Quackenbush et al. 2012) Garlic Mustard: Fun Facts European earthworms and Garlic Mustard co-occur and adversely impact native species Earthworms ingest the garlic mustard

30 Garlic Mustard: Fun Facts Garlic Mustard cover is greater in stands with Black Locust trees Black Locust Tree (Nitrogenfixing tree) Garlic Mustard may be attracted to Nitrogen-rich soils (Morris et al. 2012)

31 Japanese Barberry & Garlic Mustard: Management and Control Repeated use of fire, herbicide, cutting or the combination Complete removal of plant before it begins to seed Hand removal should be done at ground level Re-establishment may occur depending on technique; management should be done continuously (Nuzzo 1993, Rodgers et al. 2008)

32 Final Conclusions Invasive plant species have the potential to disrupt the forest ecosystem Native plant species may become extirpated by invasions Management and control of invasions will help maintain forest biodiversity

33 The Next Step Examining change in spatial patterns over time in 3 invasive plant species & native species based on abundance data for our sites across Southern Ontario: Invasive Plant Species 1. Japanese Barberry 2. Buckthorn 3. Garlic Mustard Native Plant Species 1. Jack-in-the-Pulpit 2. Trillium 1. Virginia Creeper

34 The Next Step Continue my data synthesis Examine multivariate community dynamics of forest plant communities For sites across Southern Ontario, and if you are interested, get in touch with me, to get plot species data

35 Acknowledgements Dawn Bazely Sapna Sharma Amro Zayed The Bazely Lab York University Parks Canada